OnePlus 5 vs LG G6 review

Price When Reviewed

$799

Even at a higher price than before, OnePlus is still undercutting the big names in the smartphone market. Can the OnePlus 5 beat the LG G6, though? Find out in our comparison review looking at price, design, specs and cameras. Read: Best phones for 2017.

It’s worth pointing out that there was no OnePlus 4. The previous device was the OnePlus 3T, which was a performance upgrade of the OnePlus 3. The firm skipped to the number five because four is unlucky in China. Also see: OnePlus 3T vs OnePlus 5.

OnePlus 5 vs LG G6 Price

The OnePlus 5 is the firm’s most expensive phone to date but it remains the cheaper option when compared to the LG G6.

Starting at £449, it’s a full £200 cheaper which will make a big difference to a lot of people. The LG G6 isn’t outrageously expensive at £649, that’s about standard for the big name flagships in 2017.

View the OnePlus 5 from OnePlus here. It’s also available exclusively with O2 in the UK on contract. 

OnePlus 5 vs LG G6 Design and Build

The OnePlus 5 might be thinner and lighter compared to the LG G6 – by 10g and 0.6mm – but the latter is actually more compact despite having a larger screen. 

This is due to a combination of a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner and impressively tiny bezels around the display. OnePlus takes a more traditional approach with a front mounted fingerprint scanner.

We like the Alert Slider on the OnePlus 5 that allows you to quickly switch between audio profiles but the LG G6 has an arguably more useful design feature. It’s IP68 rated meaning it’s fully waterproof whereas the OnePlus has no such rating.

For a while it was thought the LG G6 would not have a headphone jack but it’s located on the top so there’s no worries on that matter. The OnePlus 5 has one too.

What might help you decide in this area is that the OnePlus 5 uses a stylish metal design which we particularly like. The LG G6 still looks great but a glass rear cover is slippery and prone to smashing if dropped.

We wouldn’t mind so much if it enabled wireless charging, which it does, but only on the US model.

OnePlus 5 vs LG G6 Specs and Hardware

It’s not a huge shock that the LG G6 has a better screen than the OnePlus 6. It’s bigger at 5.7in but inside a smaller phone (width and height), has a Quad HD resolution, goregous rounded corners and an interesting 18:9 aspect ratio.

That’s not to say the OnePlus 5 has a bad screen and at £200 less, it’s understandable that the 5.5in display uses a Full HD resolution and doesn’t have any fancy features. The Optic AMOLED technology does provide impressive contrast and colours, though.

Interestingly, the LG G6 uses an older Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor. The OnePlus 5 has the up-to-date Snapdragon 835 which is a decent punch considering you can get it for a lot less.

Add in that the OnePlus comes with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage as standard and the LG G6 starts to look a bit silly – it packs 4GB and 32GB respectively.

There’s also a OnePlus 5 with a 8GB and 128GB for just £50 more which is quite astonishing. When it comes to these core specs, the LG G6 is far behind, even if it is the only one with a microSD card slot here.

Check how the two phones compare in terms of benchmarks below.

Note: OnePlus has been accused of cheating benchmarks with the OnePlus 5 – read about it on XDA.

There’s largely no difference in terms of connectivity and the like but should it matter to you, the OnePlus 5 has Bluetooth 5.0 while the LG G6 offers a barometer.

Both have USB-C ports, fast charging and a 3300mAh battery inside. Both phones will last a day of typical usage so the only difference in this area is that the LG G6 features wireless charging.

Cameras are top of the list for most phone buyers and it’s a close one to call for these two phones. Both have dual-cameras on the back but offering different features.

Both cameras on the LG G6 are 13Mp with one providing a wide-angle view which can come in extremely handy. The OnePlus 5’s are 16- and 20Mp with the second one adding a longer focal length for closer shots, much like the iPhone 7 Plus.

There are yet more differences as the LG G6 offers optical image stabilisation which OnePlus does not. The G6 can take excellent photos in low light and can also record video at 4K resolution.

The OnePlus 5 is still good in low light thanks to its f/1.7 aperture but maxxes out at 1080p for video.

It’s a case of which features will you make the use of the most here. However, at the front the OnePlus 5 pips the G6 with a 16Mp camera and a better f/2 aperture. The G6 is only 5Mp and f/2.2. Read more in our best phone cameras group test.

Related: Best OnePlus phones